Fluid cut-off.



W. E. APT, 1;. L. SGHOTT 851113.11; GARLAND.

FLUID GUT-OFF.

APPLICATION FILED MAE. 1, 1910.

994,050, PatentedMay 30,1911.

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" WILLIA EQ PT Ann EDMUND L. scno'rcr, or s'r. JOSEPH, AND WILL'KAM H.GARLAND, or KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI; sen) eaR AND AssIGNoa or HIS RIGHT'ro SAID -tures of construction and organization as Arr AND SAIDSCHOT'I.

FLUID CUT-OFF.

Patented May 30, 1911.

Application filed March 1, 1910. Serial No. 546,747,

To all whom it may concern:

Be it knownthat we, TILLIAM .E. APT and EDMUND L. So'HoT'T, citizens ofthe United States, residing at St. Joseph, Buchanan county, State ofMissouri, and. VILLIAM H. "GARLAND, a citizen of the United States,residing at Kansas City, in the county of Jackson and State of Mis--souri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in FluidCut-Otis, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to fluid cut-offs of that character WlllCll'CttIlbe operated manually through the instrumentality of a flexible'connection, automatically through the breaking of a fusible linkadjacent to the cut-ofi' or automatically through the energization of anelectromagnet, and-our object is to produce an appliance of thecharacter outlined which will operate efficiently and reliably and whichis of simple, strong, durable and comparatively inexpensive construction.

With this general objectin view and others as hereinafter appear, theinvention consists in certain novel and peculiar feahereinafterdescribed and claimed; and in order that it may be fully understoodreference is to be had to the accompanying drawing, in which Figure 1,is a side view of a" fluid cut-off embodying our invention. Fig. 2, is acentral vertical longitudinal section of the same. Fig. 3, is a verticaltransverse section on the line IIL-IIIof Fig. 1.

In the said drawing where like reference characters identifycorresponding parts in all the figures,1 indicates a pipe for supplyinggas or other fluid to a building, and 4 2 a pipe for distributing suchfluid to the illuminating or heating appliances or both of suchbuilding, and secured to and connecting said pipes at the opposite sidesof the meter, not shown, from the heating and illuminating appliances,is a valve casing 3, provided with a drain plug 3 and with a diaphragmor partition 4, having a large valve opening 5, and a downwardlytapering seat 6, and also having a bridge 7, underlying the valveseat-opening and provided with a vertical guide passage 8 for the lowerportion of the stem 10, of valve 9,

held yieldingly by means of a coil spring 11, upon the valve seat, theupper end of the 1 spring bearing against the cap 12 of the valvecasing, and said cap is provided with cooperate with the bridge-portion7 in insuring direct vertical movement or reciprocatory action of thevalve.

Below the bridge the casing is preferably provided with a longitudinalchannel 14 for the reception of a lever 15 projecting from a rock-shaft16, journaled at one end in a socket 17 of the casing and at itsopposite end projecting beyond the front side of the casing and througha packing box 18, and the gland 19 of such box, and secured on the frontend of the rock-shaft is a crank 20, equipped with a pin 21 to which acatch 22 is pivoted, one end of the catch being connected by a fusiblelink 23 to apin or other fixed point 24; of said crank 20. The oppositeend of the catch overlaps the front face of a vertical lever 25,pivotally depending from a pivot pin or stud 26, projecting from thecasing 3, a nut 27 retaining the lever in position on the pivot pin orstud and between the pins 28 and 29 limiting the play of said lever,said pins projecting from a flattened projection 30 of the casing.

31 indicates an arm projecting from the substantially horizontal catch32 having a I ratchet head 33 and a depending pin 34:, and

underlying the catch to limit its downward movement is a pin 35projecting from said lever.

36 is a trigger pivoted to the lever 25, near its lower end and retainedin a substantially vertical positionby the catch 33 said trigger havinga foot 37, underlying,v he adjacent end of the catch 22 to prevent thespring 11 from forcing the valve 9 to its seat, and in order to tripsaid trigger from engagement with the catch 32 under certain conditions,aretractile spring 88 connects the lever 25 with a fixed point of thecasing to maintain it in a substantially vertical position and thusguard against the trigger being disengaged from the catch fromaccidental move ment of the lever it being noted in this connection thatpin 34 of catch 32 limits the play of the trigger in one direction whenengaged-by the catch 32. The catch 32 constitutes the armature of anelectromagnet 3 carried by a bracket- 10 secured to lever 23, and saidmagnet is Wired or otherwise elecing plate 44 and thus complete thecircuit which will energizethe electro-magnet.

' Normally however, the spring is held away from the conducting plate 44by means of a fusible link 47. In practice there will be a number ofthese circuit-making devices arranged in different parts of thebuilding,.so

that in theevent that fire breaks out thenearest fusible link will breakand result in the completion of the circuit and the energization of themagnet 39. The magnet will attract its armature 33 and thus release thetrigger 36 which will be tripped from engagement with the catch 22 by--the pressure imposed on the latter by the spring 11 which thus seats thevalve. By thus cutting off the supply of gas to the building, dangerfrom fire is minimized and if the fire is simply due to a defectivefixture, the shutting off of the gas results in the extinguishment ofthe flame.

If the fire breaks out near the casing and melts the fusible link'23,the opposititan to downward movement of the valve is removed because thecatch 22 will swing out of the path of the trigger 36, as will bereadily understood. Should it be discovered that the building is on firebefore any of the fusible links is affected, the seating of the valvecan beeifected manually through the instrument-ality of the followingmechanism :48 is a sleeve bearing a fixed relatior. to and preferablycast with casing 3,. and communicating at one end with the said sleeveand at the other with a box 49, is a pipeway or conduit consisting of aplurality of pipes 50, eachpair of pipes being connected by an elbow 51.Mounted in the box is a hand lever 52, accessible by opening or smashingthe door 53 of the box, which door will preferablybe of glass. Pivotedin each elbow'is a bell-crank 54, and if there is only one bend, asshown in the conduit, said bell crank will be connected by a link rod 55to lever 52 and by a link rod 56 to the lower end of lever 25, so thatwhen lever 52 is operated in the direction indicated by the arrow Fig.1, the'lower end of the lever 25 will be swung to the left until trigger36 is withdrawn from engagement with the catch 22, this action beingimmediately followed by the seating of the valve. It will thus be seenthat provision is made for seating the valve under any contingency, thatis, through the melting of the fusible link 23, or any of the links 47,or by hand, if the links remain intact, the parts being restored totheir original relation by hand. i

It is to be understood of course that the box 49 will be located at someaccessible point, preferably in the vestibule or hallway. of thebuilding, in order that it may be reachedconveniently by a fireman orother ting oi the gas. To enable the operator to open the valve from thevestibule or other convenient point, the crank 20 may be provided with adepending arm 57, to which is person who realizes the necessityfor'shut- I attached a cable or its equivalent-leading to the vestibuleor other convenient point. Vhen the valve is closed a null upon cable 58will reelevate the valve and in such operation the catch 22 will engagethe trigger and impose sufiicient pressure upon the same to force thelever 25 to the left, the spring 88 I yielding under this pressure andimmediately retracting-to restore said lever to its original positionand dispose the foot. of the trigger below the adjacent end of the catchas will be readily understood by reference to Fig. 1.

parent" that we have produced a fluid cut-off possessing the features ofadvantage enumerated as desirable in the statement of the objectoftheinvention, and we wish it to be understood that we do not desire to bere-' stricted to the exact details of construction shown .and describedas obvious modifications will suggest t ,emselves to one skilled in theart.

Having thus described the i vention what we claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

1. A fluid cut-011,, comprising a supply pipe and a distributing pipe, avalve caslng .connectlng said plpes and provided with a perforateddiaphragm forming a valve seat,

a valve having a yielding tendencyto engage the valve seat to arrest theflow of fluid through the casing, a pivoted lever adapt-ed forunse'ating the valve, an arm From the above description it will be ap--movable with the lever, a catch carried by and pivoted to said arm, afusible connection between said catch and arm to prevent independentmovement of either, and means engaging said catch to prevent pivotalmovement of said arm and lever and hence the seating of said valve.

2. A flui cut-off comprising a supply pipe and a distributing pipe, avalve casing connecting said pipes and provided with'a perforateddiaphragm forming a valve seat, avalve having. a yielding tendency toengage the valve sea. to arrest the flow of fluid through the casing, alever adapted for unseating the valve, an arm movable with the lever, apivoted trigger, means movable with. said arm for engagement with saidtrigger to prevent movement of said lever and the consequent seating ofsaid valve,

a catch engaging the trigger, an electro-magnet to operate the catch andeffectthe release of the trigger, and yielding means for holding thetrigger in the path of said catch.

3. A fluid cut-off, comprising a supply pipe and a distributing pipe, avalve casing connecting said pipes and provided with a perforateddiaphragm forming a valve seat, a valve having a yielding tendency toengage the valve seat to arrest the flow of fluid through the casing, alever adapted for unseating the valve, an arm movable with the lever, apivoted trigger, means movable with said arm for engagement with saidtrigger to prevent n'iovement of said lever and the consequent seatingof said valve, a

pipe and a distributingpipe, a valve casing connecting said pipes andprovided with a perforated diaphragm forming a valve seat, a valvehaving a yielding tendency to enage the valve seat, to arrest the flowof guid through the casing, a lever adapted for unseating the valve, anarm movable with the lever, a trigger, means movable with said arm, forengagement with said trigger to prevent movement of said lever and theconsequent seating of said valve, a lever ,carrying said trigger, a,box,a lever in said box, a tortuous pipeway extending from the box to apoint adjacent to the last-named lever, a bell-crank atand within thebending point of the conduit, and link rods pivotally connecting saidbell-crank with the lever in said box and with the free end of the levercarrying the trigger to operate said lever and trip the trigger fromengagement with the said means movable with said arm.

5. A fluid cut-oil", comprising a supply pipe and a distributing pipe, avalve casing connecting said pipes, a valve controlling the passage offluid through said casing, yielding means tending to seat said valve, alever within and an arm without the valve casing and connected together,a second lever pivoted to the -asing adjacent to said arm, means foryieldingly holding the said second lever in a certain position, atrigger carried by said second lever, means movable with said arm forengagement with said trigger to hold the valve unseated, and suitablyconnected means for simultaneously operating the asaie arm to cause thefirst-named lever to unseat the valve, and the means movable with saidarmto engage the trigger and be held elevated thereby.

In testimony whereof we afiix our signatures, in the presence of twowitnesses.

' \VILLIAM E. APT.

EDMUND L. SCHOTT. VILLIAM H. GARLAND.

\Vitnesses IIELEN C. Routines,

' G. Y. Tnonrn.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each. by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, I). C. i

